Hiruzen The Professor!

"To the Marines, the life of a Celestial Dragon must be more important than Ace's life, right?"

Marco fell into deep thought, then stared at this crow-like man from the ninja world. "You know the Marines better than we do. The Celestial Dragons are their weakness."

Itachi continued, "Since it's feasible, should we tell Whitebeard?"

He thought to himself, Your next line will be: no need.

Because Whitebeard would reject this method, not out of fear of the Celestial Dragons, but because he feared that without his protection, the Whitebeard Pirates would be endlessly hunted by the World Government.

During this time, Itachi had already seen through the personality of that boisterous old hero who always laughed and asked, "Wanna be my son?"

This conversation with Marco was actually a carefully crafted persuasion on his part.

Marco slowly stood up, casually placing the wine bottle on a barrel, no longer focusing on Itachi, and instead turning to gaze at the brightly lit cabin, where their family was drinking and celebrating. It was clear he now understood: Itachi's words were not a suggestion to the group, but a personal persuasion directed at Whitebeard's right-hand man.

He clearly knew what answer Whitebeard would give. So, he spoke, "No need."

Blue flames burst from his body as he transformed into a large blue bird, hovering in midair.

"Hop on. We're going now."

The corners of Itachi's mouth curved up slightly. With a flash, he instantaneously leapt onto the back of the phoenix.

The night wind howled as the two figures disappeared into the clouds, speeding toward the Sabaody Archipelago.

---

Outside the slave auction house on the Sabaody Archipelago, Saint Charlos was dragging a mermaid girl by her hair with a chain. Beneath the bubble helmet, his thick lips curled into a grin, revealing crooked yellow teeth.

"Filthy creature! Crawl faster!"

With a sudden tug, the mermaid's wrist started to bleed. Government officials nearby smiled nervously, and the CP agents' eyes behind their sunglasses remained cold and indifferent.

Suddenly, a roaring sound like a low-flying plane tore through the sky.

What followed was an undying phoenix made entirely of blue fire. It hovered in the air, staring down at the group of Celestial Dragons, who were forced to crouch under the intense air pressure.

Marco shouted, "Found them!"

As the second-in-command of the Whitebeard Pirates, his name was widely feared. The CP leader below broke out in a cold sweat and shouted, "Laying a hand on a Celestial Dragon is a grave crime!"

Marco ignored him and began a rapid descent.

From below came frantic cries. "Get Saint Charlos out of here! Alert the Marines!"

At that moment, another figure jumped down. A dozen shuriken flew toward the CP agents who were about to attack.

Compared to bullets, shuriken weren't particularly fast. The agents didn't take them seriously, until their bodies suddenly froze. They couldn't move at all.

It's that Mind Fruit user!

The agents screamed internally, but their eyes went hollow.

The shuriken slashed their throats.

Blood sprayed.

The sharp pain briefly brought them back to awareness, but it was already too late.

Then, Itachi landed.

Marco, still in his phoenix form, dove down. His flaming feathers incinerated the surrounding World Government officials. His talons ripped apart the last two CP agents beside the Celestial Dragon, then smashed Charlos' bubble helmet. His fat face twisted in fear was finally exposed to the air, and he shouted through spittle, "Do you know who I am? Do you know who my father is?"

"Shut up. We're pirates."

"Does that mean pirates don't have to respect Celestial Dragons?!"

"Yes." Returning to human form, Marco planted a 'gentle' kick on his face, leaving a shoe print.

Charlos collapsed to the ground, speechless with fear. The chain in his hand clattered to the floor, and the mermaid girl, still unsure of what fate awaited her, also knelt down, trembling.

Marco lowered his gaze and confirmed, "No doubt about it. This is a Celestial Dragon."

The look was unmistakable.

Itachi retrieved his shuriken, replenishing ninja tools here was troublesome, and asked, "What about the woman?"

"Take her with us. Fish-Man Island has always been under our protection. Since we saved her, we'll see it through to the end."

Marco glanced at the mermaid slave, blue flames igniting in his hand. "Can you still move?"

The mermaid girl timidly nodded, and the phoenix flames melted the explosive collar around her neck.

Itachi nodded in agreement.

In the distance, sirens began to wail. Marco clicked his tongue in annoyance and grabbed the limp Celestial Dragon with one hand. "Hold on tight, we might be facing the Marine's top forces soon."

Before he finished speaking, he had already transformed into a blue phoenix.

Itachi helped the mermaid girl up and leapt onto the phoenix's back.

---

Aat the Marine Headquarters, Sengoku received the distress signal and felt a chill run down his spine.

That Mind Fruit user had actually teamed up with Marco to attack a Celestial Dragon.

Reckless beyond belief.

He didn't need to think hard to figure out what they were trying to do. Now things were getting serious.

Bam!

His fist slammed onto the desk, veins bulging on his forehead. "When did the Whitebeard Pirates start using hostage tactics?!"

The once composed and calculating Sengoku, who believed his public setup of the Summit War was a sure thing, now found himself exasperated. Based on what he knew of Whitebeard, he should have taken the bait.

Instead, they'd resorted to something as vile as kidnapping a Celestial Dragon!

The Celestial Dragon must be rescued.

He pulled out a Den Den Mushi and immediately gave the order to Kizaru. "A Celestial Dragon has been kidnapped by the Whitebeard Pirates. Intercept them on their way back, rescue the hostage at all costs!"

If Marco and the others made it back to the heart of Whitebeard territory, a rescue would become nearly impossible. The situation would grow exceedingly complicated.

"Yoyo how terrifying. They really dared to attack a Celestial Dragon."

A lazy voice responded, so casual it felt like mockery.

Just hearing that tone made Sengoku's blood pressure spike. He roared, "Borsalino! I don't care if you're slacking off or drinking tea, get out there and complete the mission! If anything happens to that Celestial Dragon, the whole plan will fall apart!"

The Den Den Mushi mimicked Kizaru's ear-picking motion. "How scary~ The enemy's a master of mind control, you know. Let Sakazuki handle it~"

It was obvious he didn't want to go.

"Then you can explain that to the Five Elders yourself!" Sengoku's roar made the window glass vibrate.

After slamming the receiver down, he raised Itachi's bounty to 1 billion berries. This suddenly-emerged powerhouse was far more dangerous than expected. The fact that the Whitebeard Pirates had taken such a radical, unprecedented move definitely had something to do with him.

Just then, the Den Den Mushi rang again, it was the Five Elders, calling to hold him accountable.

They started the call with: "Sengoku, are you completely incompetent?!"

Sengoku took a deep breath. Being Fleet Admiral was such a cursed job.